


Pandora's box

by lademoiselledulac



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, No beta we die like every lover Merlin ever had, Not really sure what to tag this, Open Ending, Resurrection, cause I am just as clueless as Merlin and Gwen as to what happened here, i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28628952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lademoiselledulac/pseuds/lademoiselledulac
Summary: Merlin and Gwen are cleaning out Gaius' attic but when they come across an old chest they suddenly find themselves in the ruins of a castle.
Relationships: Gwen & Merlin (Merlin)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14
Collections: The Melee Challenge





	Pandora's box

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Merlin Fic Server Melee  
> Week One, Prompt: Chest
> 
> This is a bit half brewed and I apologize for my terrible comma placement in advance.  
> Maybe I'll come back to this later?

“Heya, Gwen!”  
“Merlin! What’s up?”  
“Do you have time tomorrow afternoon?”  
“Yeah sure. What’s the plan?”  
“Gaius is moving and asked me to sort through his attic. I just had a look at it and it’s a lot of stuff. I don’t think I’ll manage that on my own. Could you maybe help me?”  
“Sure thing”  
“Ok, I’ll just text you the address and the time then. See you tomorrow!”  
“See you”  
************************************  
“Hullo Merlin”  
“Gwen! You came!”  
“Of course. Always happy to help, let’s take a look at that attic, shall we?”  
“Yeah. It’s up here”  
“What kind of stuff does Gaius have in there?”  
“He’s terrible at throwing things away, so it’s a crazy hotchpotch. A bit of everything”  
The two had reached the end of the stairs. When Gwen opened the door a big cloud of dust rose into the air. The little light that seeped through the dirty windows fell unto boxes upon boxes filled with all kinds of lumber.  
“Merlin, I did not expect THIS much”  
“Umm, sorry?”  
“Well, nothing to do about it now. The sooner we start the quicker we’re done”  
“Right”  
They cleared out a space on the floor and started to sort everything into different piles.  
Occasionally they told the other about particularly interesting finds.  
“Merlin, look at this. It’s photographs of us! Oh, we were such adorable kids!”  
“Aww, you look cute! I just look really skinny”  
“We always went swimming in that lake in the summer…”  
…  
“Merlin, what on earth is this?”  
“Oh, well, umm, that’s a bong”  
“Why does Gaius have a bong in his attic?”  
“He did some travelling in his early years…”  
…  
“Uuuh, Merlin! You remember this book?”  
She was holding up a copy of one of their high school readings.  
“Ugh, put that away! Just seeing it gives me the shivers”  
…  
“Gwen, look! This is so cool”  
Under a pile of Gaius’ clothes Merlin had discovered an old chest. It was coated by a thick layer of dust. He puffed over it once and coughed immediately. The lid was graced with intricate carvings.  
“How long has this been UP here?”, Merlin wondered.  
“What did you find?”  
“Some old box”  
He handed the chest over to Gwen.  
“I wonder what’s inside”, she said.  
“Let’s open it!”  
“But it’s locked”  
“Give me one of your bobby pins. I know how to lock-pick”  
“Merlin, why do you know how to lock-pick? Do I even want to know?”  
“I taught myself off of YouTube. There is this one great guy who does tutorials! It came in handy once or twice”  
He grinned cheekily at her.  
“Great. My best friend is a criminal”  
“Just because I know how to lock-pick I’m not a criminal”  
“Whatever. Open it! I’m curious”  
“Ok. I’ll just have to push it in here … and then turn it like that … and then… HA! It worked!”  
“Yayy”  
“I’ll give you the honour of opening it, milady”  
“Thank you, Merlin”  
Both of them were grinning broadly.  
“Open it! I’m excited!”  
“Ok, here goes nothing…”  
“Dundundunduuuun…”  
“Stop it Merlin!”  
Gwen shoved his shoulder. Then she slowly opened the chest.  
And the world went dark.  
…  
“Merlin? Merlin, where are you? What happened?”, Gwen almost squeaked.  
“Maybe the power went out?”  
“That doesn’t make any sense. There would still be some light coming through the windows”  
“I guess. But look, it’s getting a bit brighter again”  
It was true. Slowly but surely the light came back and their surroundings started to crystallise themselves.  
But what they saw around them was not the attic they spend the last few hours in. Instead, they found themselves in the ruins of a castle.  
“Gwen, where are we?”  
“And how did we get here?”  
A few walls were still standing around them, but looked like they might topple any second. What might have been a mighty fortress once had been taken back by nature over the centuries. Trees and vines grew over the collapsed walls and the blocks that littered the floor were cracked and shattered. Through the gaps in the ruins and the empty windows they could see that the masonry was surrounded by thick woods.  
Suddenly the setting began to change. It was like something had shifted in the air. The vines that had grown over the collapsed boulders and pillars over time pulled back into the earth. Around them rocks were flying up into the sky and landing where they had once belonged. Trees were shrinking and shrinking, until they withdrew themselves into the soil completely. The castle seemed to rebuild itself around them. When the two had stood on uneven and rocky ground at first, the floor was now tiled with stone. The blind windows seemed to have grown a thin, translucent skin, that got thicker and thicker until they were filled with glass again.  
Finally, they were standing in the middle of a medieval throne room.  
“What just happened, Merlin? Are we going crazy? What did that chest do with us?”  
“I don’t know! Do you think I expected my uncle to have some creepy magic box in his attic?”  
“Someone’s coming!”, Gwen shrieked.  
It was too late to hide. Two people stepped through the large double wing doors at the end of the hall. But there was no need to worry. The man and woman that had entered just looked right through them, as if they weren’t even there.  
The woman was wearing an elaborate red velvet dress, the man accompanying her was dressed in silver armour and a blood red cape.  
“Gwen, that woman kind of looks like you”, Merlin whispered.  
“But her clothes are a lot fancier than mine”  
“You look stunning in that red dress”  
“Merlin, that is not me. She just looks a bit like me”  
“Gwen, she is a dead ringer for you!”  
“It still can’t be me. I am not some medieval noblewoman living in a castle, remember?”  
“They don’t see us, do they?”  
“And they can’t hear us either”  
“You’re right”  
“Shh, shh, they’re talking now”  
While Gwen and Merlin had been arguing, the fancier version of Gwen and the man had made their way to the end of the hall. Now Gwen 2.0 rose to speak.  
“Leon, I am still not sure about this. We cannot lose hope that-”  
“My queen- No, Gwen. I know you have faith in Merlin and Arthur. But you heard what Gaius said. It is too late for our king. Even Merlin won’t be able to do anything for him now”  
“But-“  
“The people need someone to lead them and I couldn’t imagine anyone more capable of that than you”  
…  
“See? That IS you Gwen! And you’re not just some noblewoman but a queen! And I am somewhere too! With your husband Arthur!”, Merlin remarked excitedly.  
“Did you miss the part where this Leon said that hope is gone and my- or rather her husband is dead?”  
“Well…”  
“Now shut up, they’re talking again”  
…  
“My queen, we need to do this now. There is no more time”  
She was clearly agonizing but still nodded in agreement after a second.  
Like on cue the wing doors opened again. This time they let in a flood of knights. Rows upon rows were filled with the red capes. Some of them just walked right through Merlin and Gwen.  
“Gwen, what if we are ghosts? I mean, they can’t see us, they can’t hear us, they can walk right through us…”  
“Merlin we are not ghosts. We would need to have died for that first, Right?”  
“Well, maybe we did die. Maybe that box killed us and-“  
He interrupted himself. The whole room had fallen silent as the other Gwen had sat down on the throne; Leon positioned beside her.  
Then he rose to speak.  
“The king is dead”, he paused for a second, “long live the queen!”  
When every other knight in the hall repeated those words after him, and the sound reverberated within the walls, louder and louder, the light was drained from the room again and Merlin and Gwen found themselves in total darkness for the second time that day.  
After a few seconds had passed, the darkness lifted again. Merlin and Gwen were back in the dusty attic.  
For a moment they were both sitting on the floor transfixed in shock.  
Then Merlin said: “You know, there IS an Arthur in my biochemistry class…”


End file.
